RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS invites journalists to apply to its Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program. The scholarships give full-time journalists up to $5,000 to take any college religion courses at any accredited institution at any time.

Religion headlines are dominating news coverage—politics, religion, Islam in America — now is the perfect time to dig deeper into today’s hottest stories. More than 260 people have already taken advantage of RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS’ Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program for Journalists.

Topics reporters have studied include: Islamic Movements, God & Politics, Religion & Conflict Resolution, Politics of International Religious Freedom, Buddhism in the West, Violence and Liberation, Muslim-Christian Relations in World History and many more.

“The courses led to dozens of story ideas and new resources. I came out a sharper researcher and writer, two benefits I was not expecting going in,” said Eric Marrapodi of CNN who took four Lilly scholarship courses in three years at Georgetown University.

The scholarships can be used at accredited colleges, universities, seminaries or similar institutions. Journalists can choose any religion, spirituality or ethics course. Scholarships cover tuition, books, registration fees, parking and other course-related costs. Online and travel classes are also eligible (as long as travel costs are part of the curriculum).

The next scholarship application deadline is April 1, 2013. Scholarships must be used within three months of their award date.

RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS is the world’s only association for journalists who write about religion in the mainstream news media. The scholarships are offered through its non-profit arm, the Religion Newswriters Foundation, with funding from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Complete information about the Lilly Scholarships in Religion program is available at http://bit.ly/j8MOOg. Direct questions to Amy Schiska at 573-355-5201 ext. 3#, or Schiska@RNA.org.